China's harassment of Taiwan has escalated dramatically

For 3 years, demonstrations of force on the part of Beijing towards its Taiwanese neighbor have become commonplace, in particular when it comes to ostentatiously showing the displeasure of the Chinese authorities with regard to certain Taiwanese initiatives or the United States, such as the sale of military equipment or the visit of American officials. But for 6 months now, things have become noticeably tense between Taipei and Beijing, and the harassment of Taiwan has greatly increased in intensity and regularity. This November 7 marks a new stage in this increase in tensions, the People's Liberation Army having deployed no less than 63 combat aircraft in and around Taiwan, as well as 4 warships. Thus, 24 J-16 fighter bombers crossed a few kilometers over the separation line of the Taiwan Pass, until now considered a de facto air border between the two countries.

This deployment of force is not an isolated action, since over the last 3 months, Beijing has deployed an average of 18 fighter jets and 4 ships daily to the Taiwan defense zone., with peaks of activity at each new peak of tension with the United States, only October 31 having seen no activity since August 15. Above all, unlike previously, it is not based on an American or Taiwanese decision or initiative, as was the case in May and early August following the visit of senators then the President of the House of Representatives on the autonomous island. It should be noted that the previous day, November 6, was also the subject of intense activity with 46 Chinese planes and 4 ships in the Taiwanese detection zone, including 8 J-16 fighter bombers as well as 2 Su-30 of the same template, 4 J-11 heavy fighters, a JH-7 bomber as well as 3 heavy reconnaissance drones, a KJ-500 Awacs and 2 Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft, all except the KJ-500 having directly crossed the dividing line of the Taiwan pass. something that didn't happen until early August and Nancy Pelosi's visit.

This Chinese harassment obviously has a communication objective, and a demonstration of forces, Beijing demonstrating its ability to support relatively intense air and naval activity over time. It also forces the Taiwanese armies to react, by launching its own fighter to oppose Chinese incursions, but also by deploying its own ships and activating its air defense, if only to follow the trajectories of aircraft and ships. opponents. Doing so, Beijing is forcing Taiwan to consume the potential of its fighter, made up of significantly fewer devices than the PLA, with 300 modern fighters against more than 1400 for China, which is also often made up of older devices, such as its 27 F-5Es dating from the 70s, or its 46 Mirage 2000s and 110 F-16 C/Ds acquired in the 90s. The same goes for the activation of air defenses, allowing Chinese planes to collect valuable information electronics on the location and nature of these.

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